The Wild Thing In All of Us

I have been talking a lot about Art and I believe imagination is one of the essential ingredients for any artist. As a viewer, it is a mixture of imagery and interpretation that makes really good art for me: A photograph with a dreamlike quality, a painting that stirs thoughts, or a wonderful story that convinces its audience to believe beyond reason -all things that encourage me to get lost in the moment.
So, today's entry is about the imagination and a beloved story that is being recognized on the big screen that captivated me as a child, and, hopefully, will unleash more chronic daydreamers.



I am the second and youngest daughter in my family. My mother has often said, "If I had you first, I don't think I would have had anymore!" I would love to interpret this as a sweet remark that meant I was a such a gift of pure perfection that there was no need for anymore. However, I know this is NOT what she is trying to say! Then, she will not hesitate to further explain that, as a young child, I was loud, difficult, and mischievous.
Despite her efforts, you could usually find me with a filthy face and long tangled hair sitting high up in a tree plotting my next great adventure. Being girly wasn't always fun but dreaming up stories to act out and getting dirty was! So, when I was around 8 or 9 and read Where The Wild Things Are for the first time, I had found a book that spoke my language!
The whole story is only ten sentences, but, what a story! Finally, no more sugar coated fairy tales with princesses in frilly ball gowns dancing around while birds chirped! I had found a book about a child who thrived on making mischief, despite the harsh consequences, and, distracted himself away from punishments with his runaway imagination! He sailed away in his mind to a land with a mysterious and wild forest and created a world without boundaries where huge monsters gave him free reign and crowned him king! (Oh, yes, then back to reality to eat his still hot supper later!) Perfect! So, it was a little far fetched, but, so was my imagination at that time!
Today, I had the incredible opportunity to share this story in the form of a movie with my two young boys. I honestly didn't know how such an imaginative adventure would translate onto the big screen and I was a little afraid the main character would look like a little brat running around wild with a bunch of goofy looking muppets. My 3 year old would not complain regardless of the outcome, but, my 5 year old would not let me away with it as easily. So, I was praying for theatrical magic to occur and it did. The movie captured the many emotions of childhood just like the book, and, how much easier it is to escape conflict while you still can.
I glanced often at my sons' faces and reveled in watching their expressions. They grinned, laughed, and believed in the story the way I did when I was that girl with the filthy face and tangled hair. It's amazing how something like that can stir up such fond memories and it gave me the chance to create new ones with my own children. It was good to be reminded about my days of chronic daydreaming and the wild things I created in my own mind and I was thrilled to see this movie encourage a new generation to unleash the wild thing in all of us once again.


Image Credit: Cover of Where the Wild Things Are, a 1963 children's book by American writer & illustrator Maurice Sendak